289.8

That is my weigh-in weight for our boggest loser competition. If you haven't signed up yet please call 801-796-7961 and make an appointment to weigh-in. I hope to use this blog to document not only my progress in the competition by to clearly state the "why" behind my weight loss techniques.

Let me give you some history about me, I had always been very skinny, had difficulty putting on weight, etc. in high school. That changed on my mission in Alabama. Being on a bike most of the time meant my appetite went way up, and I was getting older so my metabolism was slowing down. We were also fed extremely well with dinner appointments of good southern cooking nearly every night. I went out about 185 and came home about 245. Since then I haven't really gotten out of control. When I met Sarah I had just been on a fad ephedrine diet and lost about 20 lbs (down to 225). When I got married I was 255, and have just crept up a few pounds per year over the last 13 years of marriage. I would be happy to get down to my freshly married weight of 255, and could realistically only get down to about 225 or 230 as an absolute low. I don't think it would be healthy for me to lose 35 pounds in 8 weeeks, but I am shooting for a good 20 pounds before the end of biggest loser.

The plan for the first couple weeks of the competition (which ends October 8, 2010) is to eat like a human. There is no secret about why I am heavier than I should be, I love food. I love cooking old favorites, and trying new things that sound really good. I enjoy the time spent with family and friends while eating, and enjoy making people feel welcome by feeding them well. I don't believe anyone has left the Moulder house hungry after being invited for dinner. All of this means that I just eat too much food, so the plan for the first stage of this project (I love projects) is to simply eat smaller portions. No crazy diets, no low carb (yet), no grapefruits, just eat about half of what I normally eat. I figure this will put me in the ideal 2000 to 2500 calories per day relm.

I usually start this by fasting for 24 hours with lots of water. I didn't get to do that this time, but I think it helps shrink my stomach so I don't feel so hungry. The key is breaking the fast with as small of a meal as you can so your body doesn't feel like it is just holding out for "the big one" at the end of the fast.

It is always a good idea to take a good multi-vitamin while losing weight. The extra nutrients really help cut down on cravings, so I've started those as well.

Good luck with your own weight loss goals and keep watching here for more updates!